Park View Little-Leaguers Fighting for Spot in World Series

The Park View Little League All-Stars are playing for a berth in the Little League World Series, facing the Lakeside Little League All-Stars in the Western Regional Final in San Bernardino.

Both teams were 4-0 in pool play in the regional. Park View reached the final with a 15-2 victory over the Legacy Little League All-Stars of Henderson, Nev. in a semifinal Friday called after four innings because of the 10-run rule.

Lakeside of Granite Bay, the Northern California champion, was a 9-8 winner over the Arrowhead Little League All-Stars of Glendale, Ariz. in Friday's other semifinal.

Park View, nicknamed the Green Machine, has out-scored its opponents, 87-11 in the regional, hitting 34 home runs. Four of its five games in the regional have ended early because of the 10-run rule.

"No matter where the pitch is, if we put our good swing on it and we hit it hard, it will go out," Park View's No. 3 batter Luke Ramirez, who has three home runs and 11 runs batted in in the regional, told the Press-Enterprise.

Park View cleanup hitter Kiko Garcia has 10 home runs in five games, with 12 hits in 17 at bats for a .706 batting average.

While Park View has relied on its hitting to reach the final, Lakeside's strength has been pitching. It allowed two runs over its first three games and three in its third.

Lakeside manager Bill Rockefeller predicted a low-scoring game.

"I think (Park View) has had the lion's share of the second and third pitchers in the tournament, haven't seen a whole lot of number-one pitchers coming through," Rockefeller said. "They had a little bit easier schedule than we did. I haven't been able to watch them hit any good pitching yet, so we'll see (today)."

Rockefeller called Park View "a very well-coached team" that "really knows how to make a pitcher pay for any mistakes."

"We need to limit those mistakes," Rockefeller said.

Eight San Diego County teams have reached the Little League World Series, most recently the Rancho Buena Vista All-Stars in 2005.

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